Bird #101!

And just like that,  I find my one hundred and first bird, a New Zealand Dabchick. For those of you in the US, and other parts of the world, the Dabchick is also known as a Grebe. I had been hitting a lot of the small fresh water lakes in the northern half of the North Island, before getting a tip from Ricky, at Summit Forest Products. It seems there are a few lakes that are not really published on any map, but are open for visiting. Since they are not really “out there” for the public to know about, the birds gather there with a little less harassment by visiting people. Sure enough, there were 6 New Zealand Dabchicks there, with 5 adult birds and one very young bird, still being fed by its parents. The birds stayed out in the middle of the lake, so the photos kinda suck, but a Dabchick it is!!

Here is a shot of the juvenile!